College is the end goal of public education that every student desires to attain and the society wants for the newer generations so they may become successful and productive in the future. What parent does not want their child to succeed in college, get a lucrative job, and gain a significant amount of financial independence? Nearly every student would go to class, get good grades, and graduate with honors because that’s the natural path their K-12 Education prepared them for. However, not all students can do that because a lot of colleges are just sit-learn-repeat kind of schools, and not student-centered. One way colleges are changing this is by incorporating technology into the classroom and making learning more interactive while still treating the class as a whole entity. One Web 2.0 tool that plays a pivotal role in college classrooms is Blackboard Learn. Blackboard Learn is an online learning tool that allows students to access materials, tests, and lectures all easily logged on to from a smart phone or any Internet enabled electronic device 24/7 (Blackboard, 2015). Blackboard has been incorporated into many classrooms, especially in colleges, to give students access to multiple opportunities for success in the classroom. Teachers can upload lectures, PowerPoints, videos, blogs, and articles to enhance and create a more student centered environment. This makes learning easy for the students in class because they have everything they need right in front of them. Not only does this give each student multiple opportunities to access information, but they also can study everything as many times as they want while not feeling like they missed out on information in one hour of class time. This learning tool has not only become a regular adaption in the college setting, but it also provides advantages in which students can achieve greater success through the use of Blackboard Learning system. One major advantage to this learning tool is that it is highly individualized for every student. Blackboard allows for students to have a more positive learning experience as well as receive specialized attention in their education, ultimately allowing for differentiation. Another positive aspect of this tool is that it allows enhanced interaction between students and educators or collaboration with their fellow students. These interactions can happen at any time, not simply during a specific period in the day. There are no “office hours” or trips to campus to see your teacher within a constrained block of time. This online forum gives interactions without restriction on time and place to keep learning fluid and ongoing. A final positive aspect of Blackboard is that students are learning the way that they individually prefer to learn; thus, it is more focused on the students individual choice, and not only on how the teacher wants them to learn. Blackboard opens up a new way of learning that not only teaches students, but alsogives them the opportunity to learn at their pace and develop education more than it is. Another big positive of Blackboard is that there is an app for it (Levy, 2011). Students can access it anywhere from their phones, iPads/tablets, and computers (Levy, 2011).
As a current online student that benefits from the use of Blackboard, I also recognize the value of peers' input as a learning tool. Most online students are working professionals that offer valuable experiences that neither instructors nor books are familiar with. For example, my current peers are educators with experience in elementary, middle, and high school, as well as catholic and church schools. As our education field changes daily, having the opportunity to share experiences with hands on educators make every blackboard class unique. Personally, if I have the opportunity to participate in classroom instruction, I would rather join a blackboard model course. However, online learning is not for everyone because there are a few negative pecks to it. First, some people learn more in a face-to-face type of classroom. These students need to see the teacher, take notes, listen to lectures, and be present to obtain the information. These students find it hard to learn with just self-learning and need that extra “push” from the teacher to get them there. The second negative side of this technology is that it is not dependable. There are glitches that occur, which are uncontrollable in which mother nature or other unforeseen events make a device unattainable to connect with colleagues or the teacher. You can easily look in a book and get your answers, but when all of your materials are on a computer that won’t turn on or if you are stuck in situation where all of your information is deleted, you are stuck in a tough situation until it is resolved.. Finally, it’s all about time management. Most students that come right out of high school go to college having to learn time management. That is why following instructions and directions on the syllabus students receive on the first day of class is crucial. If you don’t have a sense of time management or someone to tell you to look at your homework, being successful becomes difficult.
Overall, the idea of having an online learning forum will open up a tremendous amount of opportunities to the many types of learners and teachers out there; so, this may change the way education is viewed and taught in the near future. As a tool for students, Blackboard Learn can be truly helpful, because students can track their grades easily, which the video below shows. Having the ability to see grades on a daily or weekly basis can be very motivating to students and thus pushing them in the right direction.
College is the end goal of public education that every student desires to attain and the society wants for the newer generations so they may become successful and productive in the future. What parent does not want their child to succeed in college, get a lucrative job, and gain a significant amount of financial independence? Nearly every student would go to class, get good grades, and graduate with honors because that’s the natural path their K-12 Education prepared them for. However, not all students can do that because a lot of colleges are just sit-learn-repeat kind of schools, and not student-centered. One way colleges are changing this is by incorporating technology into the classroom and making learning more interactive while still treating the class as a whole entity.
One Web 2.0 tool that plays a pivotal role in college classrooms is Blackboard Learn. Blackboard Learn is an online learning tool that allows students to access materials, tests, and lectures all easily logged on to from a smart phone or any Internet enabled electronic device 24/7 (Blackboard, 2015). Blackboard has been incorporated into many classrooms, especially in colleges, to give students access to multiple opportunities for success in the classroom. Teachers can upload lectures, PowerPoints, videos, blogs, and articles to enhance and create a more student centered environment. This makes learning easy for the students in class because they have everything they need right in front of them. Not only does this give each student multiple opportunities to access information, but they also can study everything as many times as they want while not feeling like they missed out on information in one hour of class time.
This learning tool has not only become a regular adaption in the college setting, but it also provides advantages in which students can achieve greater success through the use of Blackboard Learning system. One major advantage to this learning tool is that it is highly individualized for every student. Blackboard allows for students to have a more positive learning experience as well as receive specialized attention in their education, ultimately allowing for differentiation. Another positive aspect of this tool is that it allows enhanced interaction between students and educators or collaboration with their fellow students. These interactions can happen at any time, not simply during a specific period in the day. There are no “office hours” or trips to campus to see your teacher within a constrained block of time. This online forum gives interactions without restriction on time and place to keep learning fluid and ongoing. A final positive aspect of Blackboard is that students are learning the way that they individually prefer to learn; thus, it is more focused on the students individual choice, and not only on how the teacher wants them to learn. Blackboard opens up a new way of learning that not only teaches students, but also gives them the opportunity to learn at their pace and develop education more than it is. Another big positive of Blackboard is that there is an app for it (Levy, 2011). Students can access it anywhere from their phones, iPads/tablets, and computers (Levy, 2011).
Image Credit: http://www.ispsindia.com/sites/default/files/pageimages/020.jpg
As a current online student that benefits from the use of Blackboard, I also recognize the value of peers' input as a learning tool. Most online students are working professionals that offer valuable experiences that neither instructors nor books are familiar with. For example, my current peers are educators with experience in elementary, middle, and high school, as well as catholic and church schools. As our education field changes daily, having the opportunity to share experiences with hands on educators make every blackboard class unique. Personally, if I have the opportunity to participate in classroom instruction, I would rather join a blackboard model course.
However, online learning is not for everyone because there are a few negative pecks to it. First, some people learn more in a face-to-face type of classroom. These students need to see the teacher, take notes, listen to lectures, and be present to obtain the information. These students find it hard to learn with just self-learning and need that extra “push” from the teacher to get them there. The second negative side of this technology is that it is not dependable. There are glitches that occur, which are uncontrollable in which mother nature or other unforeseen events make a device unattainable to connect with colleagues or the teacher. You can easily look in a book and get your answers, but when all of your materials are on a computer that won’t turn on or if you are stuck in situation where all of your information is deleted, you are stuck in a tough situation until it is resolved.. Finally, it’s all about time management. Most students that come right out of high school go to college having to learn time management. That is why following instructions and directions on the syllabus students receive on the first day of class is crucial. If you don’t have a sense of time management or someone to tell you to look at your homework, being successful becomes difficult.
Overall, the idea of having an online learning forum will open up a tremendous amount of opportunities to the many types of learners and teachers out there; so, this may change the way education is viewed and taught in the near future.
As a tool for students, Blackboard Learn can be truly helpful, because students can track their grades easily, which the video below shows. Having the ability to see grades on a daily or weekly basis can be very motivating to students and thus pushing them in the right direction.
Reference
Blackboard Learn. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2015, from http://www.blackboard.com/about-us/index.aspx
Levy, M. (2011, February 13). Pros and cons of Blackboard app for iPad. [Blog]. Retrieved from
https://edu520group2.wikispaces.com/Blackboard+Learn-The+new+college+classroom
Blackboard image retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=twitter&biw=1280&bih=624&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjJxviSoLTJAhXG1h4KHRrECQ4Q_AUICCgD#tbm=isch&q=blackboard+learn+logo&imgrc=6nMWF1k0lrYy5M%3Ahttps://www.purdue.edu/learning/blog/?p=7043